Dan Wesson barrel install problem

[Ol` Joe]

I bought a used Dan Wesson M15 a couple years back that has always had the bbl/ cylinder gap set too tight, ~0.002”/0.003” as best I can tell. This causes the gun to start to lock up after 20/25 rds due to heat and carbon buildup which I suspect is the reason the gun was originally sold.

I’ve been trying this afternoon to reset the gap to somewhere between 0.005”/0.006” using the factory supplied wrench and a set of automotive feeler gauges and have run into a problem. As per You tube and forum instructions I have loosened the shroud, turned out the barrel, placed a feeler in between the barrel and cylinder, screwed the barrel in to just touching the feeler and replaced the shroud and tightened the muzzle lock nut. So far so good. Now a check shows the barrel moved in a few thousands when I snugged the lock nut and the gap is again somewhere around 0.002”.

I’ve tried leaving the desired feeler in place and snugging the nut hoping it will act as a stop, no luck. I still get movement of the barrel and a too tight gap and a tightly pinch gauge.
The movement appears to occur during the last 1/2 turn of the nut when snugging it down. I don’t think I’m over torquing the nut it’s not much more then finger tight when movement starts and I’m not bearing down on the nut tightening it

Has anyone had any experience with this? Any tips to help keep my sanity and preserve a nice revolver from a hard meeting with my basement wall?
Have I mentioned I’m frustrated?

[joepistol]

I still have my Dan Wesson revolver I bought back in the 80's.
I think , from the description of your process, that you're over tightening the muzzle lock nut.
My DW came with a 6" barrel when purchased, years later I bought a 4" barrel (& shroud) for versatility.
I switch back & forth between the barrels, have not had the problem you describe.

I adjust barrel to feeler gauge, with the slightest drag between the 2 , slide on the shroud & just snug the muzzle lock nut..it doesn't have to be very tight.

DW revolvers used to rule in the metallic silhouette shooting competitions, in part because shooters would adjust the barrel so the cylinder would barely turn..
limiting the "jump" distance from the cylinder to the barrel....al least that is what I was told.

added: you have cleaned the threads on the frame & muzzle nut, haven't you ?

[Ol` Joe]

added: you have cleaned the threads on the frame & muzzle nut, haven't you ?

Clean what??

I did give the threads a very quick swipe with a drop of oil and cleaning patch. No lint or threads were apparent but I didn’t really clean anything, i will make sure things are spotless.

I did not feel I was over tightening the nut but I did give it ~1/2 turn passed spinning it into place with a finger nail in the nut wrench recesses if that is too much. The nut was probable as tight as one would get a 1” wing nut by finger

[JohnJak]

Shims?

[Ol` Joe]

Shims?

It’s not a shim problem, the problem is how to prevent the barrel from tightening with the lock nut. I tried leaving the feeler between the cylinder and barrel as a “stop/shim” but the cylinder must have a touch of play that allowed the barrel to still set back anyway

[wsr]

Don’t know about DW revolvers but have you tried setting the gap to .008/.009 and then tightening taking out the extra.002 in the process?

[JohnJak]

Hairline crack. Not a smith just tossing things out.

[Ol` Joe]

I gave it a shot of Gun Scrubber and a brush to the nut and barrel threads followed with a drop of Weapon Shield then wiped off with a rag. I then used a 0.007” feeler left in between the barrel and cylinder face, finger tightening the nut snug and gave just an extra little tweak with the wrench. This left the barrel shroud snug enough it has no movement and the barrel ended up with a snug 0.006” on a chamber or two and a good fit of 0.005” on the rest. I’m going to leave it alone and shoot the gun a few times to see if it cures my binding problem and things stay in place.

I’m not sure what my original problem with readjusting the barrel was but, I am leaning to the old grease that was on the threads of the barrel offering enough resistance to the nut threads it bound a little and caused the barrel to tighten a bit while snugging the nut down. I wiped every thing with a cloth the 1st time I had it apart and there was no dirt or grit to be seen or felt but that’s all i can figure other then I over tightened the nut. I feel I was OK with tightening as I did not give much if any more force this time over what I was doing before, but???

Thanks to all that offered assistance.